Railroad grain door

ABSTRACT

A reusable, semi-permanently installed unitary grain door for railroad box cars is provided. In the preferred form corrugated fiberglass reinforced plastic panels are hinged together and supported by the uppermost panel. In each form of the invention, the door may be stored in the box car at the upper portion thereof by folding the panels upwardly so as to permit use of the car for purposes other than hauling of grain.

United States Patent .1 91

Shoemaker 1 RAILROAD GRAIN DOOR [76] Inventor: Kent P. Shoemaker, 4914 Arden,

Edina, Minn. 55434 [22 Filed; Oct. 31, 1973 211 App]. No.: 411,312

[52] US. Cl. .i 105/378, 160/213 [51] Int. Cl B6ld 19/00, B60j 5/06 [58] Field of Search 105/378; 160/213, 180,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,001,036 8/1911 Hugunin 105/378 1,484,634 2/1924 Foss 160/193 2,113,291 4/1938 Clark et a1. 160/213 2,194,230 Lewis 105/378 [111 3,871,278 1 Mar. 18, 1975 6/1971 Ingram 105/377 Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr.

Assistant ExaminerRichard A. Bertsch Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Schroeder, Siegfried, Ryan & Vidas I [57 8 ABSTRACT A reusable, semi-permanently installed unitary grain door for railroad box cars is provided. In the preferred form corrugated fiberglass reinforced plastic panels are hinged together and supported by the uppermost panel. In each form of the invention, the door may be stored in the box car at the' upper portion thereof by folding the panels upwardly so as to permit use of the car for purposes other than hauling of grain.

10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEI] MAR 8 I975 shm 1 or 2 PATENTED 3.871278 SHEET 2 or 2 1 RAILROAD GRAIN DOOR The present invention is directed to a modification for a conventional railway box car so as to permit the car to be used for hauling of commodities such as grain.

There has been a trend in recent years to the use of hopper cars for the hauling of materials such as grain to permit ready loading and unloading of'the car without the use of expensive labor. However, during the peak season of movement of grain, aninsufficient number of such cars exist to'handle the volume of materials being shipped. Therefore, largeamounts of grain are shipped in conventional side opening box cars'.

The conventional procedure in the past has been to nail partitions across the inside edges of the opening at each side of the box car and then to fill the box car with the grain to be shipped. The most common material has been elongated wooden panels of a length sufficient to span the opening of the box car door and of a width such that a plurality of such panels must be on each door in order to bring about closure. These panels are nailed to the door posts at each end. of course, such wooden panels must be of considerable strength in order to insure that they will be strong enough to support the internal pressure created by the grain. When the car is to be unloaded, some mechanical means is utilized to force the grain doors inwardly into the car against the pressure of the grain, so as to permit the grain at the doorway to run outwardly and into a collection bin. Obviously, the high cost of lumber and the labor expense of installing such doors makes this approach less than fully desirable More recently, due to the high cost of lumber and expense of intalling such wooden grain doors, the industry has turned to heavy paper doors which are reinforced by steel strapping to give them sufficient strength for the intended purpose. Such paper doors require even more extensive nailing to insure that they are adequately anchored to the door posts. Opening of such doors is accomplished by cutting the paper and steel straps with removal of the nailed-on portions after the car has been emptied. The result is that paper doors cannot be reused as the wooden doors frequently can be. Damage to door posts by such nailing is extensive.

Numerous alternative procedures have been proposed for converting a conventional side opening box car into a grain hauling structure. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,463,734, there is disclosed a roll-up door quite similar to the conventional rollup garage door. In U.A. Pat No. 3,034,454, there is disclosed a complex two directional folding door arrangement combined with a hopper construction in the floor of a extensively modified box car so as to permit the same car to be used for large items or finely divided materials such as grain. Each of these prior art procedures has the disadvantage of requiring extensive equipment and modification of existing box cars to be operable. The cost of such alternate arrangements is such that they are not economically attractive.

In accordance with the present invention, a plurality of elongated panels are hingedly joined to one another with the entire assembly being mounted to the door frame by lag bolt members holding the uppermost panel adjacent the top of the door opening. The balance of the panels is not attached to the door but is merely supported in vertical orientation by suspension from the upper panel and are held in contact with the the invention can be used doorway by the pressure of the grain there behind. A door in accordance with the present invention has the advantages of being of light weight so that it could be readily handled by a single operator, is easily installed and can be readily removed if desired from the car without damage either to the car or to the grain doors, and is of relatively low cost. Doors in accordance with and reused a number of times without repair.

Grain doors in accordance with the invention can be formed from a variety of materials. However, a preferred form of the invention 'makes use of corrugated fiberglass reinforced plastic sheet material as the principal' element of the door. Such material has a high strength to weight ratio and has the desired light weight necessary-to make for ready installation and use of the door with minimum labor..

The invention will be readily understood from a study of the following specifications and drawings wherein the same parts will be given the same numerical designation in several views.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a portion of one side of a conventional box car showing the door opening with a grain door in accordance with the invention mounted thereon and in a closed position;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 1 along lines FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of portions of the door and door post of FIG. 6 showing the mounting of the upper panel to the angle iron member which is joined to the door post;

FIG. 4 is a top partial view of a closure arrangement for holding the end portions of the grain-door in accordance with the invention firmly against the box car frame when the box car is empty.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the arrangement of FIG. 4; and,

FIG. 6 isa cross sectional view of an alternative form of the inventionfor providing greater clearance at the box car dooropening when the grain door of the invention is in a stored position.

Referring first to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a portion of a conventional box car generally identified as 10 having an opening 11 defining a doorway into the interior of the car. The outer storm door and track therefore are not shown. Spanning opening 11 is a plurality of separate elongated panels 12, 13, and 14. Panels 12 and 13 are joined to one another by means such as the hinge 15 and panels 13 and 14 are similarly joined by hinge 16. In the form illustrated in the drawings, the hinges l5 and 16 are of a piano type hinge which acts as a grain tight seal along the lengths of the panels. Alternative hinging arrangements can be used including flexible sheets of rubber or spaced hinged members with an overlying flap of flexible material along the length of the hinge juncture so as to prevent loss of grain between the panels.

The main portion of the door consists of the corrugated fiberglass reinforced plastic members 12, 13 and 14 which can economically be made of a resin such as polyester resins and glass fibers. Such panels are readily available and can be shaped to any type of corrugation desired.

The plastic members l2, l3, and 14 when in place define openings at the ends thereof which would permit grain to pass around the door of the invention and out through the opening 11. These openings are conveniently blocked by means such as a plurality of shaped polyurethane foam blocks 27 as illustrated in the several figures. It is desirable to use a light weight material for such blocking and to place this material into' the cavities formed by the corrugations and door post so as to form a smooth edge parallel to the door frame. The use of foam gives light weight and some degree of compressibility so as to conform to any irregularities of the door frame. As an additional sealing means, there is provided a sponge rubber strip 28 which runs along the panels adjacent the edges conforming to the door jam and is best seen in FIG. 5. Installation of a door in accordance with the invention is readily accomplished merely by placing the joined sections 12, 13 and 14 into position adjacent the floor of the car 10. The panels are then pivotally moved into the position shown in the left hand portion of FIG. 2 and the uppermost panel is anchored to the door frame 18 by means such as lag bolt 17. Lag bolt 17 can be screwed into the wood frame and acts as a support to hold the several panels in vertical position. When the car is empty and is to be loaded .with grain, a holding arrangement can be utilized to insure that the door panels are firmly in engagement with the door frame. This arrangement is best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, there is illustrated a portion of the panel 14 in position adjacent the door frame 18. Panel 14 has been provided with a lug member 29 with a large head that projects into a keyed opening 30 in one end ofa strap iron member 31. Strap iron 31 is shaped so as to have an outermost portion opposite keyed opening end 30 engagable with post 18 in the manner illustrated. By insertion of strap member 31 over lug 29 and forcing the end around post 18, the door is held in firm engagement with the door jam.

' Once grain has been placed into the interior of the box car, its weight will hold the door firmly in engagement with the jam and member 31 may be removed. Alternately, member 31 may be left in position until the car is to be unloaded. When a box car is to be shipped with the doors in accordance with the invention in a closed position as illustrated in FIG. I, the strap members 31 may be left in place so as to prevent the door from movement during transit.

For economy as well as strength, it is desirable to provide metallic reinforcing to the fiberglass panels, thereby permitting somewhat lessened thickness to the panel members. As seen in FIG. 2, L-shaped angle iron members 25 are joined to the surfaces of the convolutions of the panels adjacent the hingedportions. Members 25 extend the entire width of the door and act as additional bracing of the panels 12, 13 and 14. At the bottom edge of panel 14 there is also provided an angle iron member 26 which in addition to reinforcing the panel at that point against outward pressure, also acts to shield the bottom portion of the panel from damage during closure thereof.

Angle irons 25 and 26 may be conveniently joined to the fiberglass members by means such as rivets or screws. it is also contemplated that a curable resin may be utilized as an adhesive to hold the angle iron members firmly in engagement with the fiberglass panels.

When it is desired to store the panels in a nonoperating mode, the panels are merely folded along hinge lines 15 and 16 into the position as shown in the right hand portion of FIG. 2 with a hook means 22 and a cable 23 joined to a hook 24 set in the roof of the box car as a means for holding the panels in an upward position out of the way during conventional use of the car for non-grain hauling purposes. Other retaining means can be utilized to hold the panels in an upward position.

The size of panels 13 and 14 is desirably of about 3 feet width in each panel so that when moved into the position shown in the right hand portion of FIG. 2, an opening of the doorway of about 6 feet is provided. This permits ready access to the interior of the car by crew members who are loading and unloading the car when large packages and the like are to be shipped. Turning to FIG. 6, there is illustrated in somewhat shcematic form, a construction differing in detail from that of FIG. 2in that the panel members comprising the door closure of the invention consist of four members rather than three. The upper member-32 is a channel iron (See FIG. 3) and acts in substantially the identical manner to panel 12 insofar as providing support for the balance of the panels. That is, if is anchored at its extreme ends to the jam 18 by means such as lag bolt 17. Supported from member 32 are panels 33, 34, and 35 which when combined equals the height that it is desired to have for access into the interior of the car. In the form shown, the panels 33 and 34 would be 3 feet in width and panel 35 would be 2 feet in width. When pivoted into the arrangement shown in the right hand portion of FIG. 6, the door would now open for a height of 8 feet.

It is now believed apparent how the doors would actually be utilized in a full loading and unloading operation for grain as well as forstorage as des'cribed'above when materials other than grain are to be shipped in the conventional box car.

A conventional box car would be modified as already described by placing a plurality of hinged panels in accordance with the invention across the opening and anchored solely at the top most lateral edges by means of bolts into frame 18. If it was desired to ship grain, the doors would be lowered as illustrated in the left hand portions of FIGS. 2 and 6 and held firmly against the door jam by means such as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. Grain would then be inserted into the cars and the pressure of the grain would hold the doors in position during shipment. When the car arrived at the destina tion, for unloading, the unloading crew would rotate a latching arrangement such as dog 20 away from a pivotal access panel 19 joined to lower panel 14 by means such as a pin 21. This would expose an opening in bottom panel 14 through which the grain could flow. A

plurality of such access panels can be provided. As illustrated in FIG. 1 access panels should be adjacent the opposite edges of the bottom panels. This is desirable so as to relieve the pressure of grain on the back side of the grain door. Grain pressing against the back of the grain door in accordance with the invention would flow outwardly through the openings 36. Where some packing tended to occur a means such as an electrical vibrator such as is used in moving uncured concrete can be utilized to speed up the rate of flow of grain outwardly through opening 36. Once the major portion of the pressure against the door has been relived, the operator can then, by pressing against the hinge region 16, which is reinforced by L-shaped angle irons 25, pivot the lower panel inwardly at itsupper edge and thus raise the lower portion 26 away from the floor of the car. As

this is accomplished, more of the grain will be allowed to flow freely outwardly, relieving the pressure against the back of the door. The operator then continues to press the panels inwardly and upwardly until the panels are in the stored position shown in the right hand portions of FIGS. 2 and 6. At this point, conventional grain unloading equipment can be utilized to empty the box car of its load.

What I claim is:

l. A light weight grain door for a side loading railroad box car of a weight to be conveniently manually moveable by a single operator which is adapted to be semipermanently installed and to be storable adjacent the roof of the box car when the car is used for purposes other than hauling grain, said door being mountable to said box car without modification of said box car interior, comprising a plurality of panel members each of a length to span and overlap onto the door posts on each side of a box car door opening, said panels being consecutively joined by hinge means intermediate adjacent-panels at the long edges of said panels to form a panel assembly, the total width of the combined panels being the major portion of the height of a railroad box car door opening, the topmost of said panels including bolt means for joining the opposite end portions thereof to the door posts of said box car door opening below the top of said opening and on the interior side of said opening to thereby provide the sole support and mounting means for positioning said panels adjacent said door posts for the balance of said panels when in a closure position on said box car door, said bottom panel defining a plurality of openings therethrough for draining grain from behind said grain door, the bottom panel of said panel assembly including movable cover means for exposing said openings.

2. A grain door in accordance with claim 1 wherein the end portions of said panels which face the inner surface of the box car door post have compressible strip of material joined thereto to form a seal with a box car door post.

3. A grain door in accordance with claim 1 wherein said panels are corrugated fiberglassreinforced plastic.

4. A grain door in accordance with claim 3 wherein the hinge means joining said panels is a piano hinge extending the length of said panels.

5. A grain door in accordance with claim 3 wherein at least the outermost edges of the convolutions forming the corrugations of said panels facing the, door post of a box car are filled by a filler material to form a plane surface.

6. A grain door in accordance with claim 5 wherein said plane surface has a compressible strip of material joined thereto for forming a seal with a box car door post.

7. A grain door in accordance with claim 5 wherein said filler material is rigid polyurethane foam.

8. A grain door in accordance with claim 3 wherein said panel members have joined thereto along the length thereof angle iron reinforcing members.

9. A grain door in accordance with claim 3 wherein at least one of said panels below said top panel includes temporary and removable clamp means on the outer side thereof adjacent each end thereof for holding said panel in engagement with the box car door post when the box car is empty prior to filling with grain.

10. In combination a railroad box car having side opening doorways and a grain door, said grain door comprising a plurality of panel members of a leength to span said doorways, .said panels being consecutively joined by hinge means intermediate adjacent panels at the long edges of said panels to form a panel assembly, the total width of said panels being the major portion of the height of said doorway, means joining the remote ends of the topmost panel to inner side of the doorposts of said doorway below the top of said opening so that the balance of said panels are supported in position adjacent said doorposts solely from said top panel with the lowermost panel in contact with the floor of said box car, the bottom panel of said panel assembly including movable cover means for exposing said openings. 

1. A light weight grain door for a side loading railroad box car of a weight to be conveniently manually moveable by a single operator which is adapted to be semipermanently installed and to be storable adjacent the roof of the box car when the car is used for purposes other than hauling grain, said door being mountable to said box car without modification of said box car interior, comprising a plurality of panel members each of a length to span and overlap onto the door posts on each side of a box car door opening, said panels being consecutively joined by hinge means intermediate adjacent-panels at the long edges of said panels to form a panel assembly, the total width of the combined panels being the major portion of the height of a railroad box car door opening, the topmost of said panels including bolt means for joining the opposite end portions thereof to the door posts of said box car door opening below the top of said opening and on the interior side of said opening to thereby provide the sole support and mounting means for positioning said panels adjacent said door posts for the balance of said panels when in a closure position on said box car door, said bottom panel defining a plurality of openings therethrough for draining grain from behind said grain door, the bottom panel of said panel assembly including movable cover means for exposing said openings.
 2. A grain door in accordance with claim 1 wherein the end portions of said panels which face the inner surface of the box car door post have compressible strip of material joined thereto to form a seal with a box car door post.
 3. A grain door in accordance with claim 1 wherein said panels are corrugated fiberglass reinforced plastic.
 4. A grain door in accordance with claim 3 wherein the hinge means joining said panels is a piano hinge extending the length of said panels.
 5. A grain door in accordance with claim 3 wherein at least the outermost edges of the convolutions forming the corrugations of said panels facing the door post of a box car are filled by a filler material to form a plane surface.
 6. A grain door in accordance with claim 5 wherein said plane surface has a compressible strip of material joined thereto for forming a seal with a box car door post.
 7. A grain door in accordance with claim 5 wherein said filler material is rigid polyurethane foam.
 8. A grain door in accordance with claim 3 wherein said panel members have joined thereto along the length thereof angle iron reinforcing members.
 9. A grain door in accordance with claim 3 wherein at least one of said panels below said top panel includes temporary and removable clamp means on the outer side thereof adjacent each end thereof for holding said panel in engagement with the box car door post when the box car is empty prior to filling with grain.
 10. In combination a railroad box car having side opening doorways and a grain door, said grain door comprising a plurality of panel members of a leength to span said doorways, said panels being consecutively joined by hinge means intermediate adjacent panels at the long edges of said panels to form a panel assembly, the total width of said panels being the major portion of the height of said doorway, means joining the remote ends of the topmost panel to inner side of the doorposts of said doorway below the top of said opening so that the balance of said panels are supported in position adjacent said doorposts solely from said top panel with the lowermost panel in contact with the floor of said box car, the bottom panel of said panel assembly including movable cover means for exposing said openings. 